Opinion: With Sears Island offshore wind port plan, Maine is putting the cart before the horse

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

By selecting Sears Island as the site for its offshore wind manufacturing facility, Maine puts the proverbial cart before the horse. A full and objective alternative analysis comparing Sears Island with other possible offshore wind manufacturing sites does not exist. The PUC continues to struggle over cost issues and has not approved a power purchase agreement for the research array. Available site analysis and engineering shows that a robust offshore wind manufacturing, assembling and launching facility can be built at Mack Point to achieve Maine’s laudable offshore wind objectives. All of this suggests an enormous business and political component to the decision to develop Sears Island instead of Mack Point that overshadows the obvious environmental issues. Yet it is environmental and climate change issues that drive this offshore wind initiative. The need for open, transparent public communication could not be greater. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust

Community involvement essential for offshore wind development

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

With the federal government’s plans on track to issue the first-ever commercial offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine this fall, it’s clear that offshore wind is coming to Maine, where it could reduce price volatility and increase grid reliability while saving New Englanders money. Offshore wind could also be an economic gamechanger with high-quality union jobs in manufacturing, construction, logistics, maintenance, and maritime trades. Already, offshore wind investments are revitalizing ports in Connecticut and Massachusetts. But that won’t be enough to build out offshore wind to its full potential in the Gulf of Maine. That’s why we are excitedly watching the development of a port in Searsport. It’s not too early to begin organizing to identify priorities for a community benefit agreement. Maine Climate Action NOW! is helping to plan an informational session this month. ~ Amy Eshoo, Maine Climate Action NOW!; Jim Mulloy and Betsy Frederick, Salem Alliance for the Environment, Salem, Massachusetts

Column: Kennebec River salmon restoration faces complicated passage

CENTRAL MAINE • September 5, 2024

In western Maine, Perham Stream is a tributary of the Kennebec River and one of the most important wild Atlantic salmon spawning waters in the United States. In the early 1800s, boatloads of Kennebec River salmon were transported to markets in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Today, Maine supports the only wild Atlantic salmon spawning runs in the U.S. But even here, the “king of fish” is barely surviving as a federally endangered species. Known as “trap and truck,” the salmon taxi service is the only viable method of ensuring that wild salmon continue to spawn in Perham Stream and the South Branch of the Sandy River, a major tributary of the Kennebec. Among Maine’s few remaining salmon rivers, the Sandy may offer the best hope of rebuilding wild salmon populations. ~ Ron Joseph

The biggest problem facing offshore wind energy isn’t broken blades. It’s public opinion.

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 5, 2024

“There’sIn July, a wind turbine blade fractured above the Atlantic Ocean. “There’s a lot of concern out there that is valid, but there’s also a lot of disinformation and whack-a-doo theories,” said Jim Boyd, a commercial shellfisherman and retired Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council deputy director. “The only thing that’s going to help the wind industry at this point is to be as upfront and transparent as possible.” Which has not always been the case. Two days after the 300-foot-long blade broke off of the Eiffel Tower-sized turbine Vineyard Wind LLC offered no explanation. Experts agree that there is not enough information to fully understand how building and operating the powerful projects will affect the sensitive ecosystem. Not to mention the safety concerns for fishermen and emergency rescue crews trying to navigate around 200 acres of turbines in rough seas or poor visibility. Environmental activists backing offshore wind as a key way to reduce carbon emissions are waiting with bated breath for more turbines to start spinning. The blade incident was concerning, but not as worrisome as climate change.

Maine utilities will be banned from spending ratepayer money on lobbying, advertising

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Years after utilities paid millions of [shareholder] dollars to influence voters about a power line through western Maine, Maine regulators announced Wednesday they will draft rules that prohibit utilities from billing ratepayers for spending on advertising, lobbying and political expenses and require spending disclosures to the state. The Public Utilities Commission voted 3-0 to launch a rule-making process seeking public comment on regulations called for in state legislation enacted last year.

Defend Our Health hires research

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Trisha Vaidyanathan has been hired as the new senior director of research at Defend Our Health. She has a bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California – Berkeley and a doctorate in neuroscience from University of California – San Francisco.

Maine cracks down on multiple businesses for contaminating the environment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

A Windham car wash that was owned by a former Westbrook police detective is facing a $239,000 fine for illegally dumping about 2 million gallons of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals such as lead, thallium and chromium down the drain and trying to hide it. It is one of several proposed Maine Department of Environmental Protection consent agreements that would resolve violations of environmental laws – some dating back five years – pending before the state Board of Environmental Protection, the agency’s enforcement arm. Other pending violations include a tanning salon chain that dumped spent or broken lamps containing mercury in an Augusta basement, an oil spill that closed Willard Beach in South Portland for four days in August 2021, and improperly stored hazardous waste at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

Opinion: Yard South project has untold potential for chaos

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

Observations about the Yard South project in South Portland: PK Realty bought the property in 2018 for $7.7 million as a speculative investment. If rezoned for residential development, the return on investment on the purchase price of $7.7 million, with views of the Portland skyline, would be astronomical. It would be a mistake to grant a zoning change before the new comprehensive change is completed and adopted. New FEMA floodplain maps, which project future sea level rise floodplain elevations, show that a 3-foot sea level rise, possible in the next 30 years, would have this tax parcel half underwater during a storm event. Given this, wouldn’t it be sensible to retain the existing working waterfront designation? ~ Jeremy Doxsee, South Portland

Letter: Changing climate becoming the legacy we’ll leave

CENTRAL MAINE • September 5, 2024

Fossil fuels have made our lives easier in profound ways. We drive or fly here and there, much of what we buy comes from far away. We heat and cool our buildings, and benefit in so many ways with household and other conveniences. A changing climate is the legacy we are leaving. The Paris Agreement of 2015 correctly called for reductions in emissions of all greenhouse gases. Efforts have gone into replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy worldwide. But it’ll never be enough because those gases are still warming the Earth. We need to remove them. Sen. Collins has introduced the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act, to fund research and development of technologies to do just that. Thank her, and ask her to fit it into the Omnibus Bill that will close this Congress. ~ Peter Garrett, Winslow, Citizens Climate Lobby and Foundation for Climate Restoration

Letter: Disturbing silence on toxic Brunswick spill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2024

The player with the deepest pockets and ultimate responsibility, and their local representative, remained mum at the recent heated PFAS spill hearing in Brunswick. I’m referring to Sen. Angus King and what is likely the largest polluter in the world, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). How the DOD can poison us and claim sovereign immunity due to national security is a travesty for the common good. Sen. King should provide some clarification, please. ~ Stephen Musica Sr., Harpswell

Grocers react to the impending loss of Aroostook dairy’s milk

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2024

The full Houlton Farms milk display at Steaks N’ Stuff in Presque Isle is about to become history, and the brothers who own the store are feeling a loss. Houlton’s family-owned dairy, the only white milk processor and distributor north of the Portland area, will discontinue its milk line by the end of September. The Lincoln family, who’ve owned the company for 43 years, have seen dairy farms around them dwindle and are now only supplied by one farm. With mounting production costs and falling white milk sales, they could no longer suffer the losses. “It’s really hard to lose something local.”

Letter: Don’t appreciate the shock of hunting photos

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2024

I don’t appreciate the shock value of large color photos of hunters, including young children, proudly displaying the dead animals they just killed. I understand that hunting is part of the culture in Maine. Plus, I’m sure that showing photos of hunters with their latest kill helps to sell newspapers. Perhaps the BDN could put these photos farther back in section B (or in a separate section entitled “Dead Animals”) and make them smaller so people who find these photos to be unpleasant will be able to avoid them if they want to. That way, we can read the real and important news about Maine and not have someone’s trophy photo forced on us. ~ Steve Colburn, Orono

Man who ran boat aground on Vinalhaven allegedly under the influence

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2024

Jared Larsen, 32, of Waldoboro, who ran a boat aground on Vinalhaven Wednesday morning, was arrested for operating under the influence. Roughly 80-100 gallons of diesel fuel were on board the vessel, according to the marine patrol. Efforts are now underway to keep it from leaking.

Column: The watersheds do ask this

TIMES RECORD • September 4, 2024

In the aftermath of the recent chemical spill at Brunswick Landing, the Mere Brook Steering Committee met to review current and near-future work on the brook. The spill took place in the Mere Brook watershed’s eastern sector. This is already toxic ground that will now be even more heavily studied over as this spill works its way into the area’s waters. What I ask for also is redoubled attention to Mere Brook’s western branch. Our offerings, whether pesticides, fertilizers or driveway runoff, have deeply compromised the brook’s ability to clean itself and support basic macroinvertabrate life. But we are working to change that, to bring life back to its waters as complement to its still vital population of a prize Maine fish, the brook trout. ~ Sandy Stott

Column: Best ways to learn those complicated fishing rules

TIMES RECORD • September 4, 2024

Recreational fishing is a big industry in Maine, where there are numerous waterways both salty and fresh that are home to a variety of species. Many of these species even overlap their habitats, spending part of their life in fresh water and part in salty. These sea-run fish include everything from shad and salmon to eel, herring, trout and even sturgeon. There’s a whole separate set of regulations and information for striped bass. The most important thing to know is not the types of fish, but that you must register with the DMR as a saltwater angler. Aside from making oneself legal, another reason to go to the recreational fishing section of the DMR’s website, is to learn more about where different species live and where you can access the water to try to catch them. ~ Susan Olcott

The world is pumping out 57 million tons of plastic pollution a year, study finds

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 4, 2024

The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people’s bodies, according to a new study. It’s enough pollution each year to fill New York City’s Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building. India leads the world in generating plastic waste, producing 10.2 million tons a year – far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often villainized for pollution, ranks fourth but is making tremendous strides in reducing waste.

Maine town wants to restore its working waterfront

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2024

The Mount Desert Select Board Tuesday night officially resolved to get Otter Creek’s working waterfront back. The signed resolution will also become part of the town’s comprehensive plan, which will help make sure that the mission to restore that working waterfront continues even as staff, administrators and elected officials change.

Nature meets education at Edgecomb private school

TIMES RECORD • September 4, 2024

At the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in Edgecomb kids spend a day each week learning outdoors. After receiving Down East Magazine’s 2024 Best Private Elementary School title, school Director Katy Inman pointed to CTL’s outdoor classroom as a distinguishing feature. Unlike most schools, once a week — rain, shine or freezing temperatures — students romp through the woods to attend class. Meggie Harvey, who connected with the school when she began working at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in 2016, said, “This includes tuning into youth voices. CTL students are valuable members of today’s climate conversation and they’re tomorrow’s future decisionmakers.”

Letter: Keep cats indoors to protect birds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2024

It escapes me why free-roaming “neighborhood cats” are an accepted norm when we know that outside cats are bird killers. It does not matter how well we feed them. It does not matter how softly they purr on our laps, or keep us good company. When they are outside and off of a leash, they often kill birds. Between one to 4 billion birds per year. Want to do something good for the planet? Keep your cats indoors, or walk them only on a leash. ~ Craig Kesselheim, Southwest Harbor

China residents to vote on high-voltage power line ban after citizens’ petition

MORNING SENTINEL • August 4, 2024

Voters will decide in November whether to adopt a temporary moratorium on new high-voltage power lines within town limits after nearly 250 residents signed a petition in support of the ban. The petition was presented to the China Select Board at its Aug. 26 meeting in response to the proposed Aroostook Renewable Gateway Project, an infrastructure proposal that would send energy generated by wind farms in Aroostook County to consumers in southern Maine and Massachusetts via roughly 150 miles of high-voltage transmission lines through central Maine.